ESPM 4295 -GIS in Environmental Science and Management
Throughout these pages, links are in blue text
Canvas site for ESPM4295 - Used to turn in assignments, track grades
Class Zoom Meeting Room - where we'll meet, click to join. If it is for a class, wait for the appointed time. If it is individual, send me an email to arrange, or during scheduled class times when we've no scheduled lecture. Andy Jenks can be reached at ajenks@umn.edu or 651-387-9600 Andy Jenks Zoom Link
I will be "in" this room during class hours, from 10:40 to 12:30, during all scheduled class meeting times.
Students only have to be in this meeting room during class times listed as Mandatory, at the start of each week. Please check each week, because I may change what is mandatory during the semester.
Sept 9 - Software Setup and Use, Meet the Project |
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Activities/Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
The week's activities are listed in this column Mandatory meeting, everyone must join in the whole-class Zoom meeting on Wed., Sept. 9, link provided here: Class Zoom Meeting Room Week 1 - Introduction, Course Mechanics, ArcGIS Set Up and Use
This course is split into two periods. We develop skills during the first six or so weeks, focusing primarily on two practice areas in the northern part of the St Paul Campus (map here). The remainder of the semester focuses on an analysis for two project watersheds for an expanded area (map here). ArcGIS Software Access All students should also install VPN software. This is needed to connect to a CFANS Lab drive that we'll use to distribute data. Instruction on installing the VPN software and on mapping a network drive are in the X295 Software Setup document. Although Citrix will be the best method of ArcGIS access for most students, as an addition, or an alternative, you may also download/install ArcGIS on your own computer if it meets the technical requirements. Finally, depending on the course of Covid-19 and campus opening, you can come to the 35 Skok Hall labs for help/to work. Using the VPN and Accessing Data The L:\ drive is accessible by mapping the drive from your home computer, as described in the X295 Software Setup, linked in the To do section below, and in the resources column at right. You will start a VPN, map the L Drive, and copy the source data to your local computer drive. Most of you will start a CFANS desktop/virtual computer through Citrix, and then copy the files you need to the virtual computer desktop for work in ArcGIS. When done, you will copy any needed files, e.g., your digitized layers, from the virtual/Citrix computer back to your local computer, physical drive. You should also periodically save project work to your Google drive, USB drive, or other "permanent" drive for backup. Note that you should NOT directly load files from the class data drive (L: drive) into an ArcGIS map; this means don't add data from the L: directly into an ArcGIS Map when using a virtual machine, or when working on your home computer, or in the Skok Hall Lab. ALWAYS copy your data files to the virtual machine desktop if using ArcGIS through Citrix, or copy files to your desktop or another local drive if using ArcGIS installed on a home computer, then add the files to ArcGIS from the local drive. At times you may get away with using the L drive directly, but your project is more likely to freeze, crash, or lose data, and at times it will be excruciatingly slow - particularly during peak computer use on campus. Do yourself a favor and get in the habit of copying data to your desktop when you start, and back to the L drive or a local drive when you finish. Each student is also assigned a L:\home\{your id} directory. One final word about ArcGIS access. Most of you will use Citrix, and access resources through an internet connection. A wired connection is often many times faster and more reliable than WiFi connection to your router. If you have a clear path from your internet router to your computer, and your computer has an ethernet port, buy a CAT-5 or CAT-6 ethernet cable and connect directly to your router. If your computer does not have an ethernet port, consider purchasing a USB to ethernet plug (about $25), and using it with an ethernet cable. If you cannot connect with a wire, then avoid shared WiFi as much as possible, by using a separate node, or working during hours where there isn't much traffic/use. To do this week: B) Set up access to ArcGIS Pro via a virtual machine/web browser, OR install ArcGIS Pro on a home machine, using the instructions found here: X295 Software Setup. You should use ArcGIS Pro, even if you learned ArcMap in a previous course. You may have trouble moving back and forth between Map and Pro versions of Arc, and ArcMap will be unsupported in the near future, so you'll have to switch eventually. C) Create a practice geodatabase in NAD83(CORS96/2011) UTM Zone 15 coordinates. Refer to the materials in the resources column, far right, if you need a refresher in getting started in ArcGIS Pro. If after viewing you still have questions, talk to Paul and Andy. We'll expect you to be able to create geodatabase layers and digitize into them quickly and easily for subsequent exercises. Start ArcGIS Pro and create a feature data set and two feature classes in your new geodatabase, shown on the practice map here, and as described below: a line feature class for a trees study area, and a polygon feature class for a landcover study area.
Third, digitize the boundaries on the St. Paul Campus for: a) a "Trees Practice Area" outline into a polygon feature class, as shown on the practice map, here, and b) The "Landcover" Practice Area boundary, a polygon feature class, shown on the practice map, here. You'll only be digitizing the boundaries now. You'll digitize the trees, landcover, and buildings in future assignments. D) Create a map with an image background, your two digitized layers, your name, a title, scale bar, and north arrow, and export as a pdf. Remember, you can get an image background from the ArcGIS standard backgrounds, or from the class images, described in the Resources column for this week, at the far right. One final note for this week, in this and all assignments and conduct, you're expected to understand and follow the Student Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity. Read it and let the instructors know if you don't understand any parts.
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Deadlines for each week's work are listed in this column Turn in assignments on the Course Canvas Site, unless specified otherwise. Some activities are due the same week as assigned, but typically assignments are due the week after assignment. Assignments are submitted via Canvas, unless specified otherwise. Prior to class Next Wednesday, before 10:40 a.m. (the start of class):
Next Wednesday before class is a hard deadline, you should turn in what you have completed by then. This class moves at a fast pace, and you can't be neglecting new work. Once the deadline has passed, you will receive a 30% deduction from your graded score, and after two weeks, zero points. Unless noted otherwise, this will be our policy for assignments. If you're traveling out of town for another commitment, pre-clear tardy submissions. Rules when turning things in:
Failure to follow this naming convention for compressed and component files may result in a deduction, and/or a return to you for re-submission. The naming and week identifiers greatly help me organize submissions and grading. When you turn in geodatabases, they must be compressed, and they should not contain copies of layers or extraneous intermediate layers. When you turn in vector data layers, make sure you don't have extraneous columns in the tables. The data may come with "extra" columns, or you may be generating intermediate columns through processing. Keep only those needed for the primary purpose of your data. |
Resources for the week are listed in this column Introductory Slides as pdf, or video Semester Project "Big Picture" Overview Slides (refer to this throughout the semester) as pdf, or video You'll need ArcGIS Pro software access, follow these instructions: X295 Software Setup A video on accessing ArcGIS through the Citrix Workspace software You must compress your geodatabases before turning them in, here's a video on file compression: Review materials from FRNM3131 (note, data referred to below are in the 3131 course files, but you shouldn't need them for understanding the mechanics):
There is a Personal Zoom Room for Paul and Personal Zoom Room for Andy. Email us if you wish to meet outside of class hours and we'll arrange a time to meet in this room. |
Sept 14 - Digitizing Review, Start Report |
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Assignments | Deadline, Details | Resources |
Mandatory meeting on Monday, Class Zoom Meeting Room Week 2 - Digitize trees and write the introduction of your final report Task 1 - Digitize the tree canopy for the "Trees" practice area Look in the L: drive, 4295W\Data folder, for the geodatabase named "PracticeAreas.gdb." Copy this gdb to your virtual computer desktop (browser/Citrix ArcGIS) or local disk drive (home full install of Arc). There are two data layers in the gdb, "Trees_Dig_Area" and "Land_Build_Area", that you'll be using as boundaries for digitizing. They correspond to the areas you digitized last week, but we provide them here so that we all start on the same page. Download the "NorthCampus_leafoff2017" and "NorthCampus_leafon2017" photos to your "local" drive. These source files are on the class L drive, ESPM4295W directory, in the CampusImages folder. Note that there are other years' images for larger areas, you may access these also. Your goal is to digitize each tree's canopy outline based on the images. You only have to digitize trees within the boundary defined by the "Trees_Dig_Area" in the PracticeAreas geodatabase. Manually interpret individual tree crowns based on the various leaf-on and leaf-off images. It is best to use the 2017 images as a base, but you may use others for some areas. You can use leaf-off images to somewhat identify the crowns and to separate evergreen from deciduous trees, but leaf-on images provide the best source for crown edges. You should do your best job of interpreting the individual trees, even where they grow in clumps. Do not be too meticulous in digitizing tree crowns. Something like 8 to 12 vertices should be acceptable for most normal, "rounded" crown boundaries. The point here is to refresh your digitizing knowledge and practice the skills, not to spend hours digitizing. Use autocomplete digitizing or split polygon digitizing as appropriate on clumps (see resources at right). Remember that individual crowns cannot overlap with other crowns, you must have "planar" topology in this layer. Also note that the tree crowns can overlap with buildings for this initial data set, but later we will remove the overlap. It is easiest to digitize crowns rather coarsely where they overlap buildings but don't worry now about matching building edges, as we will later be digitizing building outlines, and can use building polygons with the Erase function to remove the overlapping tree portions. There are digitizing options that allow you to auto-complete along existing boundaries, so you could digitize the buildings first and then and then match these edges, but it is easier to Erase in this case. You should create a text attribute named something like TreeType with the values "conifer" or "deciduous" assigned as appropriate for each polygon. Task 2 - Begin your semester-long report by writing a polished draft of the introduction. This draft should be two to five pages at 1.5 line spacing, not counting figures. It should describe:
Look at the information on rainwater and runoff provided in the first week for motivation, and the example reports in this week's resources columns for example introductions. Your description should be written as if you were working over the entire, two watershed analysis area of the semester project (map here), and not just your practice areas. We want to build the report in pieces over the course of the semester. If your graphics and text refer to the practice areas as your study area, you'll cause yourself more work, in that you'll have to re-write sections and create new figures for your final report. You can include graphic examples from the Trees and Landcover practice/skills areas you're digitizing, but be strategic so that you don't show the practice area boundaries in the figures. You should be clear to describe images of the digitized tree, building, or landcover layers as examples from a sub-area of your overall study area. You should write in the present or past tense when describing general problems or conditions (e.g., "managing rainfall runoff is one of the most common and expensive problems in developed areas," and the past tense when you're describing the data development and analysis of your project (e.g., "we used several images as data sources..."). Write as if you've already completed your data development and analysis, even though you haven't started yet. You'll slowly build the report, an assignment at a time, so you'll revise the introduction and add methods, results and recommendations in later labs. I'll expect you will have gone through the write-read-revise cycle several times, to make sure it is clear, concise, complete, well organized, and grammatically and factually correct. Read the materials in this week's resources column on general writing guidelines. You must turn in two drafts: First, an iinitial draft which is fairly complete, and a second draft, with track changes on, in which you've tried to improve on clarity, grammar, spelling, and formatting. You must have track changes on between drafts. If there is a tradeoff between finising the digitizing, and skimping on the report introduction, polish the introduction first. |
By next Monday, before the start of class, turn in:
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Week 2 Slides, digitizing, writing examples Video here on using the course data - Do not access the course L: drive from within ArcGIS. ALWAYS copy data to the virtual computer (desktop is easiest) and then work with the data on the virtual machine local drive. Then copy any new or changed data back to your directory on the L: drive, or to your own computer, or a USB drive or other "permanent" storage before you exit the virtual Citrix computer. If you load directly from the L drive into ArcGIS, you will likely lose data, time, and work. Editing, see the intro videos provided in Week 1 on creating a geodatabase and digitizing points and polygons, and these below, excerpted and modified from FNRM3131 for more efficient digitizing:
Additional information for your report: Read the "Guidelines for Your Report" and the "Writing Hints" pdfs. Additional tools that might be useful for your report:
Examples of professionally written reports - good examples of proper tone, grammer, and level of detail: 1: Browns Creek You should create a study area figure in your draft introduction, using the full watershed outlines in the Practice Areas Geodatabase provided in the L: drive, in the Data subdirectory. |
Sept 21 - Topology, Project Geodatabase |
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Assignments | Deadline | Resource |
Monday mandatory Class Zoom Meeting Room Create a Geodatabase with topology for the north campus practice area, containing the layers listed below. Review topology editing/digitizing in ArcGIS pro as needed (videos on right). Import the LandBuild_Dig_Area from the Practice_Areas geodatabase you used last week, into your new geodatabase. Your geodatabase should have a feature data set that includes: 2) A "Buildings" polygon layer to hold all building footprints for the landcover practice area, with an attribute for the name (text), and roof type (with flat or pitched values). 4) The LandBuild_Dig_Area layer encompassing your landcover/building "practice" study area - this is imported from the Practice_Areas gdb. 5) Layer topology, with, topological restrictions as:
Start Digitizing Landcover in the "Landcover/Buildings" Practice Area. Digitize landcover for at least 50% of your practice area, and all buildings for that same 50% area, and test the topology rules. Use primarily the 2017 images, but use other images as needed (e.g., WMS images, other years' campus images, as available) to locate building edges as best you can. |
By next Monday before the start of class, turn in: 1) Your geodatabase with your digitized trees layer, the empty layers listed in the assignments column, and completely specified topology rules. Remember to use our standard naming convention (initials on the front, week on the back of the name), and zip up your data into an archive. 2) You should also turn in a pdf map that shows at least 50% your landcover and 50% of your buildings digitized, with the usual map elements. As noted above, you should create maps in a form that will be easily integrated into your written report. Think about the size and shape of the map when used as a figure, and font sizes, symbology, and the arrangement of map elements that will be readable when scaled to a page. Generally, you want fonts that are no smaller than 10 points in the figures, so if you resize the image, you need to take this into account. The most common mistake is shrinking an image to fit on a page and thereby reducing fonts to a 4 or 5 point size, which renders them useless. |
Week 3 Slides, geodatabases, Catalog tips, digitizing and topology Video here on adding databases and folders to the ArcGIS Catalog to speed your work Below are more videos on topology, the first a bit repetitive from what's been provided, but 2nd and third videos below help with the actual mechanics of creating topology and fixing topological errors in ArcGIS: -Topology concepts, Your rules specify that the buildings layer must not overlap with trees. You can enforce this with the Erase tool, by first digitizing all the buildings, then erasing the trees with the building footprints. See this video and read the documentation on the Erase tool. |
Sept 28 - Finish Digitizing, Write Methods |
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Monday Optional Class Zoom Meeting Room Complete buildings and landcover - finish digitizing the landcover and building layers. Complete cleaning the topology for the practice areas, verify and fix topology for landcover/buildings, keeping the data logically consistent across layers, and complete the building roof type and landcover type and maximum infiltration attributes. Your data should be topologically "clean," with all "real" errors fixed, before you turn it in, but if it isn't, turn in progress by the deadline. Create a map showing your landcover data layer, and display the "clean" topology, after checking for and fixing any topological errors. Be sure to include the topology and participating data layers in your PDF map, and that only the "faux" errors appear in your topology. Create a map of your canopy and buildings for the "landcover" practice area, with an image background. The canopy should be colored by type (conifers one color, deciduous trees another), and buildings should be colored by roof type (flat roofs one color, pitched roofs another). Note that the canopy may not overlap buildings, so you should use the ArcGIS Erase tool or other methods to remove any parts of trees that overlap buildings. Color your trees and building layers with semi-transparent fills so that it is apparent they don't overlap. Start on the Methods section for your final report, describing data creation. This should be at least two pages on digitizing/topology creation, and at least two pages and up to six pages on analysis you will be doing (but write in the past tense, as if you've already done it). The page estimates assume a line spacing or 1.5, and do not count figures, which will add four or five pages. You should have a fairly concrete, clear description of the data development you've completed (the vector layers and topology). Your description of the data as yet to be completed (soils and watersheds) will be somewhat vague, and you will improve it in the next draft. In addition, you should include figures containing digitized layers, one for the landcover, one for soils, one combining buildings and canopy, and one for topology. You may use the maps you've already produced for previous assignments, as appropriate, but your methods section should describe these are examples; don't refer to your practice area as the entire study area, otherwise you will have to rewrite these sections or redo these figures later (remember, we'll be doing an analysis for a larger, two-watershed study area as the focus of our report, and want to be able to use these graphics in that final report). Note there is a second part of the methods required here, the analysis part you've yet to do. I want you to think about how you'll do this, and write at least two pages, and hopefully more, of your initial thoughts. In order to write this section, you will have to refer back to the project description provided in the first week, and the data development activities over the next two weeks so that you can describe the overall project methods. You need to include a general description of the analysis, how you will put together the data to reach your goals. This will be perhaps a bit difficult now, in that you may not know what process you will follow, but you have to include some description of your overall analysis to arrive at an answer, even if it is in the broadest of language and not described in great detail. The point is to get you to review the project goals now, and think about how you will process data to reach them. Re-read the project description, and include a written and/or graphic description of your general processing steps for your analysis, that is, the guide you'll follow after your data are complete.
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Next Monday, before the start of class turn in:
Observe the usual map requirements. You should also start on the methods section of your report, due in two weeks (Monday of week 6). |
Methods, Data Development & Analysis Overview slides. Short lecture on Workflow, to help with writing methods section, and a brief description of a "big picture" flowchart |
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Monday Mandatory Class Zoom Meeting Room 2nd report draft:
As with the introduction, you need to turn in both an initial draft and a polished draft Create watersheds and Flowlines We provide a figure of the approximate flowchart here. Note that important steps and branches are missing, but you may use this as a starting point. YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THE DEM FILL STEP WHILE CALCULATING WATERSHEDS in this exercise, the DEM has already been conditioned for you. Creating watersheds was covered in FNRM3131/5131, but many of you will not have taken that course, or it has been a while, so we provide links to instructions. See the videos and pdfs in this week's resources section, to the far right. The watershed tool sometimes returns incomplete watersheds. The D8 algorithm only allows water to drain to one of eight directions, and in nearly flat terrain you can get divergent flow where you shouldn't. Sometimes this results in a cell near your flow channel with a slightly off direction, creating a second watershed upstream that doesn't drain into your pourpoint. Your watersheds should approximately match that of the map shown linked a few paragraphs up. If not, perhaps use a different pourpoint distance, or manually move the pourpoints to be closer to the initial flowlines. The flowpaths (also called flowlines) might not intersect the provided pourpoints, but only run near. You should use the SNAP POURPOINT function, with a snap distance of less than 5 meters, for this exercise. Create a pdf map of your watersheds, with a suitable image background, flowlines, and the usual legend, north arrow, etc. Your watersheds should have an extent similar to those in the figure here. Create a detailed flowchart that describes your specific watershed workflow. This flowchart should include each step, the names of the specific ArcGIS tools you used, and the descriptive names of the output layers. Any key parameters should also be noted on the flowchart (e.g., snap pour point distance). Export as a pdf, and turn in on Canvas. |
Next Monday, before the start of class turn in:
Important! As noted in the more detailed materials provided earlier, DO NOT write your methods as an overtly sequential description, and DO NOT frequently refer to specific ArcGIS Pro tools. As in the example reports provided in the Week 2 resources column, professional reports rarely include this level of detail or form in their methods. |
Most of you should have had exposure to the concept of watershed delineation based on a raster DEM. Here is an excerpt from the "GIS Fundamentals" textbook explaining the general idea, for review: Watershed Background Below are a video and instructions excerpted from FNRM3131/5131. The students in that class are provided a "well-behaved" DEM, that has been pre-processed to work. You'll need to substitute your different input files and other parameters, but these provide an example of the workflow in ArcGIS Pro. Creating watershed instructions, excerpted from 3131/5131, here using the tools:
You DON'T NEED TO USE the FILL function on your DEM, included in some of the descriptive materials. The DEM has already been filled for you. Video for Watershed Creation Video for creating vector flowlines from flow accumulation layer. This may require use of the tools
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Oct 12 - Introduction to Model Builder
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Mandatory meeting on Monday, Class Zoom Meeting Room Look at the example video, the Model Builder Quick Tour, Getting Started, and other resources from ESRI, linked in the right column. Start a new project, copy in the campus DEM and the pourpoint file you used last week, found in the course L drive, data directory, Sheds.gdb. Build a processing model for watershed delineation using the ArcGIS model builder tool. You basically do the steps you followed for last week's exercise, but write them into a model that can conduct all the steps in sequence. Note that you should make the input and output data layers, and the snap pourpoint distance as parameters, entered at run time. The model is saved links to your project, so you need to turn in both your project and your geodatabase. You can do this by exporting a Project Package, as shown in the video to the right. If you have problems creating a package and the deadline is nearing, use the snipping tool to capture the graphic of your Model Builder model, embed that in a Word or similar document, convert to PDF, and submit that as a place holder, and compress the geodatabase and submit that with the model figure. Contact one of the instructors to work out why you couldn't create the Project Package, as you'll need to do that in future exercises. |
NOTE: The Project Package tool seems to have stopped working, or at least be working intermittently, perhaps due to a software update. It worked during testing in August/early September, but at least three students have not been able to create a package, with various error messages. Next Monday, before class,
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Model Builder Introductory Slides. Slides on Making MB models portable A simple Model Builder example video Model Builder resources from ESRI: -Quick Tour Finally, since your model builder lives inside a project, and you should turn in both your data and the model. The preferred way to share your work is by creating something called an export package as shown in the video below, but there is currently a problem as noted above in the assignment: Exporting a Project Package to submit to Canvas Unfortunately, it appears this option is now working intermittently, so another option which should work involves zipping the containing folder, including the toolbox files (.tbx), index, geodatabase, and project file: Zipping all project files to submit to Canvas |
Oct 19 - The Project
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Mandatory meeting on Monday and Wednesday this week, Class Zoom Meeting Room Monday and Wednesday in Zoom (Class) - we'll discuss the overall project, analysis, and output. 1) Re-read the project description, review the general flowchart, create a detailed flowchart for interception sub-workflow. We provide a basic flowchart in the resources column to the right, also embedded within the flowcharting exercise below. We will discuss an example flowchart, and on Wednesday provide a refresher on some analysis tools that you'll likely use to solve our problem. This flowchart is missing some details. This week you will provide the details for the canopy interception sub-workflow, a small branch of the overall flowchart, you will expand and add details, and verify your sub-workflow is valid by applying it. Follow the instructions in the Canopy Interception/Net Rainfall Flowcharting exercise here 2) Get Acquainted and Condition the Project-Wide Data The data are available on the class L drive, in the Data directory, in the WholeProjectData geodatabase. You will have to modify the data layers a bit for your analysis, e.g., modify or add attributes to change units from cm to meters in the soils data, or add a maximum canopy interception attribute, but these are relatively minor. Note that there is not a watersheds layer, you will have to create that, either manually or using your Model Builder tool. Wednesday - Analysis and Tools
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Before the start of class on Monday, next week
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Example flowchart graphic (vector analysis, then raster) Selecting and calculating fields for vector layers Video refreshers on common tools (from FNRM3131) You should use the search function as described in the Finding tools in ArcGIS Pro video and search the online ArcGIS Pro documentation, to understand and then apply the: -Polygon to Raster tool, to convert vector features to rasters, prior to using the raster calculator |
Oct 26 - Basic Calculations |
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Mandatory meeting on Monday, Class Zoom Meeting Room Surface absorption layer: Calculate maximum surface absorption, and create a flowchart of your process that combines the landcover, buildings, and soils layer to create this maximum surface absorption layer. This layer will have a value of zero for the impervious landcovers (roads, sidewalks) and a zero for buildings, and the maximum soil infiltration layer for the remaining locations. Students in 4295 ARE NOT REQUIRED to make a Model Builder model for this workflow. Students in 5295 DO have to eventually make a Model Builder model for this workflow. Don't be confused. Optionally, for extra credit, 4295 students can make a model builder model that calculates your maximum surface absorption layer. Turn in a pdf map of the maximum infiltration layer, and a flowchart of your sub-workflow to calculate maximum absorption/infiltration, as described in the deadline column to the right |
By next Monday, before class, turn in:
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Week's slides: Calculate Maximum Infiltration Layer Manually, and Net Rainfall in Model Builder (MB) Videos: Select table records based on values, manually, or in Model Builder An example video of using a code block to shorten the number of steps calculate a field value for a feature, based on other column values for that feature. Another brief example on else-if python code block, an alternative to multi-step selection, but more complicated Short video on a strategy to use when MB doesn't display an input file in a subsequent tool in a workflow. |
Nov 2 - Tools, Net Runoff
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Class Zoom Room We'll introduce the general steps needed to create a net runoff layer. This will involve combining the three branches of analysis you've already conducted - net rainfall (after interception), maximum surface absorption, and watersheds. Most of the work will be with tools you already know, but we will introduce a few new tools, needed to aggregate over the watersheds:
You should apply the combined workflow, and calculate net runoff for your two watersheds, based on current surface conditions and a 2.5 cm storm. |
By next Monday, before class, turn in two maps and a spreadsheet:
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Week's slides, Reclassification and Summarize by Zones to table, here Example here on how to summarize or calculate other zonal statistics across a layer to a table. 2nd example here of how to summarize across a vector polygon layer/table. Long(ish) video here with a general hint at how to structure your geodatabases for easier debugging in Model Builder (MB), and I walk through a MB model that roughly follows the earlier provided general flowchart. Video here on stepping through a MB model, running a single tool at a time, while debugging. |
Nov 9 - Runoff and Draft 3 |
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Week 10 - Calculate Runoff for 5 cm Rainfall, start Report Draft 3 Apply your analysis workflow to estimate runoff for the 5 cm rainfall event, analogous to what you produced last week, just at a higher rain level. Create maps of 1) interception and 2) runoff, and a table, produce pdfs, and turn these in. Start report draft 3. Your report draft 3 should include revisions of your introduction and methods, and a new results section describing your net runoff results for the 2.5cm and 5cm rainfall-runoff for conditions as they are now. The results section should be 2 to 4 pages, not counting figures. Note that the full report draft 3 is due in 2 weeks, but we have you turn in parts each of the next week. Next week you turn in maps of the 5 cm net interception and of net runoff. You'll need these for your full analysis. Also, turn in a table showing net runoff summed for your watersheds - these will all be included in your report draft. Report draft 3 is due in two weeks, and should include: 1) A revised introduction and methods sections, based on previous grading/comments. You should include two flowcharts, The detailed flowchart is each step, with the names of the ArcGIS tools and all your intermediate layers. Be sure to keep the fonts large enough to easily read. You will likely have to break the flowchart up, into several sections, on separate pages. The generalized flowchart is the main branches, combined to their general topics and actions, e.g., a branch to develop net rainfall inputs, a branch to develop surface permeabilities, a branch for watersheds, etc. This will fit on one page at most, and is appropriate for the body of the report, in your methods section. It should be even more generalized than the example flowchart we provided for you earlier. 2) A results section describing your findings for the base case rainfall for both 2.5 and 5 cm rainfall events. The results section should include the runoff volumes in the format specified in the project description. Your results section should also include maps of your estimated runoff under 2.5 and 5 cm rainfall. Remember that the target audience is the set of administrators in charge of the University's physical environment and stormwater management. They don't know anything about GIS software, or GIS theory, or any jargon on geospatial analysis terms. You need to provide enough detail so that an intelligent non-expert will understand what you did, and be convinced that your methods are sound and your recommendations are valid.
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By Monday, turn in, as pdfs: 1) Map of 5 cm net rainfall (note, this is a late change, if you've already turned in net interception, or planned on it, either will be acceptable), 2) Map of net 5 cm storm runoff; maps should be appropriately symbolized across the range of the main layer, and 3a) Either a table showing net runoff, in cubic meters of water, by watershed for each of the 2.5 and 5 cm storms, 3b) annotation on the runoff map showing the 2.5 and 5 cm runoff amounts, clearly labeled. |
The 5 cm analysis is just a repeat of the workflow you did with the 2.5 cm rainfall event, except now you are using a 5 cm rainfall event.
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Nov 16 - Mitigations |
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
We can mitigate by adding forest canopy, changing impervious surfaces to pervious surfaces, adding sinks, converting roofs to green roofs, and adding underground storage. We will discuss general strategies for adding mitigation, and walk through one workflow for canopy addition. Your tasks will be: 1) Create a new forest canopy layer. Digitize points, buffer, clip/union with the original trees layer combine to create a modified canopy layer that is part of your 2.5 cm mitigation recommendations, and use this to calculate both a new net rainfall interception layer, and the cost of adding new canopy. Remember, your new canopy needs to be combined with the existing canopy, and cannot overlap with buildings, so you'll have to union/combine your canopy generated by buffering points with the existing digitized canopy, and clip the canopy layer with buildings. You need to calculate costs for the new canopy, and you have to pay for the total new canopy planted, even if it overlaps with the existing canopy. Hence your cost is based on the total new canopy area from your buffering, before you union it with existing canopy or clip it with buildings. Create a pdf map that shows the combined canopy layer (old and new), highlighting what you added/changed compared to the old layer (you can do this by displaying the old layer on top of the new combined layer, using different shades). Include text listing the original canopy area, the new canopy area, and the new canopy cost, by watershed, somewhere on the map. 2) First version of results section for report draft 3 - you should turn in your first draft of the results for the "as is" conditions, 2.5 cm and 5 cm rainfall (no mitigations changes). This is your initial draft, you will turn in a self-revised draft next week (no feedback by instructors between these two drafts). Note that this version DOES NOT HAVE TO INCLUDE revisions of the Introduction and Methods sections, but the version you turn in next week SHOULD BE COMPLETE, AND INCLUDE REVISIONS TO ALL PARTS. |
Before class on Monday next week, turn in:
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Week's Slides, Buffering and strategies for "Creating" new canopy, and calculating rainfall mitigation needs. Video here of one workflow and MB model to add tree canopy Document describing strategies and examples for mitigation planning
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Nov 23 - more mitigations
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Week 12 - Thanksgiving, and begin mitigation rain gardens and impervious surface There are four primary ways besides increase canopy we'll use to mitigate runoff: convert impervious to pervious surfaces, rain gardens, green roofs, and underground storage. You should start work on rain gardens and pervious pavement before leaving for Thanksgiving, and continue after returning. Note that the rain gardens and impervious surface layers and calculations should be completed by the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, so you should work on some early this week and early the week after Thanksgiving. 1) Adding rain gardens. These should be placed near flowlines, in parking lots or grassy/flat areas, but subject to restrictions noted in the detailed project description document (e.g., near existing flowlines, not on roads or sidewalks, not consuming too much of parking lots, and others). You should examine and place rain gardens, starting with large flat grassy areas, parking lots, and plazas. There are two complications with rain gardens. First, they need to be near flowlines, so you need to place them accordingly. Second, they are limited to a 0.5 meter depth, so you need to make sure you don't over or under size them, and give them too much or too little credit for water mitigation. If you make the rain garden too big for the upstream area, it won't fill up for the 2.5 cm storm, and so will be too costly. If it is too small, it won't absorb all the upstream water. Rather than go through many analysis iterations, your best approach is to estimate runoff based on average runoff conditions and upstream area, and make a rain garden large enough to capture that amount, assuming a 0.5m deep rain garden. You can then verify the amount captured during a run, and adjust the calculations as need be. 2) Converting impervious surface to pervious surface. You'll have an estimate of how much rain gardens take up from the above analysis, so have an idea of how much additional volume you'll need to reduce, by subtracting the rain garden storage from your "as is" conditions. This will give you an estimate of the amount of additional water you need to process on the landscape. You can then calculate how much area in impervous surface this will correspond to, given the average soil maximum infiltration rates. You then can make of copy of your original impervious surface, and split new polygons from existing features (e.g., roads, sidewalks, plazas) and make them pervious. You will have to calculate the costs of impervious to pervious conversion, by first calculating the area of converted polygons, and multiplying by the cost per area listed in the project description. |
Turn in the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, before Class: Turn in the following maps for the 2.5 cm mitigations: 1) a map of rain gardens, overlain by the flowpath vectors, a hollow fill watershed layer, and with an image background, and 2) a map of converted pavement, from impervious to pervious, overlain by the flowpath vectors, an outline watershed layer, and with an image background. You don't need to calculate areas, costs, or other attributes, I just want to see some progress on this mitigation work. 3) Your final report draft three, with revised introductions, methods, and a results sections.
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Week's slides here Video on strategies for adding rain gardens, balancing capacity to runoff, and downstream accumulation of overflow from upstream rain gardens. Video on strategies for converting impervious surfaces to pervious surfaces Converting impervious surfaces to pervious surfaces will likely require splitting polygons, often splitting pieces and then merging, covered in general videos here: Remember to assign new table values reflecting the switch from impervious to pervious |
Nov 30 - Yet More Mitigations
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Class Zoom Room Add green roofs. You may still have positive runoff after adding rain gardens and pervious surface, so you may need to add green roofs. Any flat roof can be converted to a green roof, they will absorb all the rainfall of a 2.5" storm. This is an expensive way to reduce runoff, and is limited to just the roofs, but is a less expensive alternative than underground storage. The amount of runoff reduction is easy to calculate - the area of the roof in square meters, multiplied by 2.5 cm (or 0.025 meters), for cubic meters of outflow reduction. You don't need to do another full application of your geoprocessing workflow, because of our assumptions of no absorption of overland flow. You can calculate the rainfall volume that falls on any converted roof, and subtract that amount from the runoff calculated with your rain gardens and pervious surface present. You must calculate the cost, on a per surface area basis for converted rooftops. Underground Storage. After subtracting the reduction in runoff due to green roofs, you may still have a positive outflow. If that is the case, then you can simply designate an amount of underground storage. Again, you don't need to re-run your workflow, you can simple designate the amount of underground storage as that left over after everything else, and calculate your required storage volumes. You should also calculate the following numbers to include in your report, organized in one or more tables, and also discussed in the results section
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Turn in by Monday, next week, before class, at the start of class: 1) map showing the rain gardens, with flowlines and watershed boundaries (not filled), an image background, with a table showing the surface area of the rain garden in sq. m., the volume of water stored for each rain garden in cubic m., and the cost of the rain garden 2) a map showing new pervious surfaces, with watershed boundaries (not filled), an image background, and an annotation or table showing the total area converted to pervious surface, and the total cost. 3) Data tables for your reports, as specified in the report guidelines and problem statement. You should be able to nearly completely fill these out, but whatever your progress, complete them as much as you can, and turn them in as a pdf. |
Video, calculating summed area and cost of green roofs Video, workflow calculating rain garden costs, converted pervious surface areas and costs.
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Dec 7 - Finish Analysis, Write Report
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Week 14 - Continue Analysis Under Modifications Project work, modifications and analysis to mitigate runoff for prescribed rainfall amounts |
By Next Monday, at the Start of Class,
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Dec 14 - Write Report
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
Week 15 - Work on final analysis and final report |
Please fill out an online course evaluation | |
Dec 17-23 - Finals Week - Turn in Report
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Assignments | Deadline | Resources |
No class final; all assignments due by Wednesday, December 23, 11:59 pm You should put your final geodatabases on the L:drive, the 4294 share directory, in a directory with your name and the word "final" as part of the directory name. You should also submit a note to the class Canvas site for the final data, letting me know you have transferred the data to the L drive. You should turn in your final report on the class Canvas site, in the final report section. You should turn in three final geodatabases to the L drive: 1) A geodatabase with the word "Current" in the name that contains data used for calculating your "current condition" runoff for 2.5 cm and 5 cm storms. These are the data you used at the start of your workflow, that is, after you added columns or modified the base data we gave you, but before you started your runoff workflow. Don't include intermediate layers. The geodatabase should include:
2) A geodatabase with "2p5cm" in the name, which includes the modified layers used to obtain your 2.5 cm mitigation of runoff. You should include the modified layers for a 2.5 cm storm only, not the original layers (these are in the database above). Turn in the following:
3) a geodatabase with the "5cm" in the name, including all layers similar to those above, but for your 5 cm rainfall mitigations. Your final report should include the information provided in previous drafts, plus a description/discussion of the changes for reducing runoff to zero under the different rainfall amounts. This should include appropriate maps/figures.
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Wednesday, Dec. 23rd by 11:59 p.m., turn in your final report, via Canvas, and your copy your final data to the 4295Share\yournamefinaldata subdirectory |